[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 132 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H9874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1915
                   SMART SECURITY AND CIA 9/11 REPORT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Renzi). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, the worst attacks on this country's soil 
took place on September 11, 2001, when planes hijacked by terrorists 
slammed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. The last 
plane which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania was likely headed for 
the very building in which we are now standing, the U.S. Capitol.
  Shortly after these devastating attacks, the House and Senate 
intelligence committees requested that the Office of the Inspector 
General at the Central Intelligence Agency provide a comprehensive 
report on the events surrounding 9/11.
  In June, 2004, an 11-member team from the CIA's Office of the 
Inspector General completed its report after a 17-month investigation. 
Congress, however, still has not received this important report.
  According to several intelligence officials, the CIA report is 
potentially damaging to the White House because it details pre-9/11 
failures by members of the Bush administration. According to one 
official, ``What all the other reports on 9/11 did not do is point the 
finger at individuals and give the how and what of their 
responsibility. This report does that.''
  Unfortunately, even though the CIA team finished its exhaustive 
report in June, it has yet to make its way to the House and Senate 
intelligence committees here in our Congress.
  My colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), the chairman and ranking 
member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote 
to the CIA in early October asking for delivery of this crucial report. 
They received no reply. Several sources in the intelligence community 
have stated that the reason for the delay has been the White House 
itself, which wanted the document released only after the November 
presidential election.
  This should surprise no one.
  What should surprise everyone is that the failure to deliver this 
report on time is unprecedented. The CIA has never failed to submit a 
report to Congress or delayed a report's submission for purely 
political reasons.
  Mr. Speaker, the truth behind 9/11 is too important for the Bush 
White House to use for partisan applications. President Bush officially 
opposed the creation of the independent 9/11 Commission in the first 
place. Only when public opinion became unwieldy did he relent and allow 
its creation.
  Then, after the Commission was created, the President opposed 
providing it with enough time to complete its congressionally mandated 
investigative report. He relented only after public opinion weighed in 
against him.
  President Bush initially refused to allow National Security Advisor 
Condoleeza Rice to testify before the Commission, then relented under 
public pressure. Then he refused to testify before the Commission 
himself but relented under public pressure but only behind closed doors 
and with Vice President Cheney by his side the whole time.
  Mr. Speaker, there has to be a better way to respond to the threats 
America faces than by hiding behind closed doors. Instead, our 
government should depend on openness and transparency. That is why I 
have introduced H. Con. Res. 3792, a SMART Security Platform for the 
21st Century. SMART stands for sensible multi-lateral American response 
to terrorism. SMART Security embodies a government that is fair, open, 
and transparent. SMART Security treats war as an absolute last resort. 
It fights terrorism with stronger intelligence and multi-lateral 
partnerships, and it controls the spread of weapons of mass destruction 
with aggressive diplomacy, strong regional security arrangements and 
vigorous inspection regimes.
  SMART Security will defend America from future terrorist attacks by 
relying on the very best of America, not our nuclear capability but our 
capacity for multi-national leadership and our commitment to peace and 
freedom around the world.
  If we fail to maintain the democratic principles upon which the 
country was founded, then we will have lost more than any terrorist 
could ever have taken away.
  SMART Security is tough, pragmatic and safe. It depends on a 
government that is open, honest and transparent, and it is the right 
choice to keep Americans truly secure.

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